I'll Try
by WhispertheWolf
Summary: Songfic: Young Piper has a hard time with the "ideal world" concept. As she sees it, people are horrible and miracles don't happen. There's no such thing as faith, trust, or pixie dust.


Author's Notes: This was inspired late last night while I listened to this song on YouTube. I knew immediately this song would fit with one of the Storm Hawks.

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite as I wanted it. I have been trying to move away from fanfics about Aerrow or Piper or about their friendship (and songfics about love have an annoying habit of turning into Aerrow/Piper pairings. Need a new pairing. But luckily this isn't a love song.)

Try as I might, though, these are the characters that work for this. Piper is not one to believe in childish things, is mature, and has lived through some rough stuff, so she fit the bill as the main character. The other character needed to be a hopeful one with big dreams and faith in humanity. Naturally, which Storm Hawk does that make you think of? Not Junko or Finn, and definitely not Stork! (Radarr can't talk, so he was already out.) So, yeah, another Piper/Aerrow friendship fic.

So here's your background: This is a story about young Piper, before she, Aerrow, Radarr, and Finn had met Stork or the Cyclonian Youth Brigade 059, but after the foursome starting living on Terra Neverlandis together.

This song is for all those people out there who've lost faith in people. I encourage all of you to hear the song sometime.

Enough of my jabbering. Read on!

Disclaimer: I do not own this song. It is from Disney's _Peter Pan 2: Return to Neverland _and sung by Jonatha Brooke. I also do not own the show _Storm Hawks_ or it's characters, created by Nerd Corps.

* * *

Storm Hawks—I'll Try

It was all so hard. Just so, so hard!

But I could manage it.

I knew how to refine crystals, how to get food, how to boil water, and how to build a shelter. I knew how to earn my own money to get by. I knew how to get from place to place, and I knew most the languages of the places there were to go.

Even when I was all alone, I took care of myself just fine. I didn't need any friends, families, no mommy or daddy . . .

I try not to think about that. It won't do any good.

_I am not a child now._

_I can take care of myself._

At least now I'm not alone anymore.

I've met these two boys and their little furry friend. Finn's kind of annoying most of the time, but he's okay. Radarr's cute and friendly and very intelligent. I wish knew what species he was, but the little furry creature amuses me. He follows Aerrow around like a puppy dog.

Aerrow seems to be the one in charge. Not that he takes charge or anything. The other two just always follow his lead. And I find myself doing that, too, sometimes. He's a natural leader, and he's been very kind to all of us, doing his best to take care of us.

I don't mean to brag, but _I _do most of the caring. I clean their clothes and dishes while they run around all day and play Sky Knights. I work alongside Aerrow and Radarr to build the shelter while Finn shirks off the work. I cook all the meals and watch them devour them without so much as a thank you. I keep the boys from doing anything stupid or breaking their necks so they can turn around and do something else stupid.

They think I'm strong and smart (and in Finn's case, a little aggravating). They think nothing fazes me.

But at night, all I can think about is how we all got here. Alone. Lost. Homeless.

_Orphans._

I recall my own parents. And I try not to cry.

I don't need them, anyway. I don't need anyone. I take care of myself and the others. I'm okay.

_I mustn't let them down now,_

_Mustn't let them see me cry._

_I'm fine, I'm fine._

But I never understood this concept of Aerrow's to sit around our little campfire and tell silly kid stories about superheroes and mystical people and places, of Dragon Knights and wizards, of powerful war heroes and peacekeepers, of pixies and magic. Fairytales, basically.

And then Aerrow would always talk about all the things we're going to do in the future. "You'll see," he'd say. "One day it won't be like this. We'll be living happy lives together, as a family."

He likes to call us a family. I don't know why. Family is nothing more than a word that says you come from the same bloodline. We certainly don't fit the criteria. Aerrow thinks there's something special about it, that it means you can trust someone through anything and that they will always be there for you. Finn and Radarr buy into it. Me? I know it's only a word.

But Aerrow would continue with that silly lopsided smile of his. "And one day," he'd say, "there won't be any war. Terras won't fight. Everyone will be united together as Atmos."

I could only shake my head. He had far too much faith in humanity.

"'Course," he'd add, looking angry, "that won't happen until someone puts Cyclonia in their place." He sighed and looked up at the Storm Hawks flag we had flown over our fort to show our alliances. "We need someone like the Storm Hawks again."

"Or what was that story?" Finn said. "About that person who met an elf that grew into a giant and helped them defeat an evil dragon? And then he went on to make peace between two warring terras!"

I snorted. "Stories like that show the reason dragons are extinct."

"Still a good story," Finn said. "I wish I could have met the elf."

But Aerrow obviously wasn't thinking about elves. He was still on his heated anger against the Cyclonians. "Maybe one day we could fly to battle," he joked. "We'd show those Talons what for!"

"Just like Lance did to the bad dude Buteo?" Finn asked.

Okay, that was it. "You really believe in that stuff?" I challenged. "Don't you get it? Those stories, they don't mean anything. They're just stories to help little kids go to sleep. It's not like there could ever be a world with no war or fighting or rivalry. And what about us? What's the likelihood that we're ever even going to get out of this situation? It's not like we have any means of flying away from this terra! We're stuck here!

"None of what you say adds up. It just won't happen."

The others were quiet. Finn was glaring at me, and Radarr looked sad. But Aerrow was only thoughtful, staring down at his feet. When he looked up at me, his eyes were only filled with pity. "You really believe that?"

I'd had enough by now. I stood up abruptly. "I'm tired now," I declared. "I'm going to bed."

I could feel Aerrow's eyes following me as I walked away.

But he was just an immature boy. I know better. He escaped from his Cyclonian invasion before he could see the full destruction. And he hadn't gone to many neighboring terras and seen what was done there.

He just had a different view of the world. He hadn't seen all the horrible stuff I had.

People are horrible. And miracles don't happen.

_I'm too tired to listen._

_I'm too old to believe_

_All these childish stories._

_There is no such thing as faith_

_And trust and pixie dust._

I couldn't sleep that night. I kept thinking about what Aerrow had said. I was certain I believed that there wasn't much hope in the world.

But is that what I wanted to believe?

Well, that was easy to answer.

I closed my eyes hard and tried to picture it. See the world the way the boys did.

I just couldn't.

_I try,_

_But it's so hard to believe._

_I try,_

_But I can't see what you see._

_I try, I try, I try._

I can only think of all I've seen.

When the Cyclonians came to my home, they tore everything apart.

It was the first time I was ever all by myself, homeless, without friends or family. The first time I ever saw humanoid cruelty. The first time I had to use my own knowledge for survival. The first time I ever had to leave the ones I loved.

The first time I was ever lost hope.

The first place I came to after that was a little town. I tried to get some help, but everyone just shoved me away. "Streetfilth," I heard one man whisper about me.

Another said, "The war's little victims are hit again."

"Poor thing!" one woman exclaimed and gave me some bread.

But no one offered a helping hand.

After that, it took a long time to trust anyone.

_My whole world is changing._

_I don't know where to turn._

When I had met the boys, I didn't trust them, either. But Aerrow was persistent in following me around and pestering me. Looking back on it, I know he was doing his best to show me he cared, even though he didn't even know me.

But the terra we met on was soon also invaded. A sea of Talons swept in, and just like all our home terras and all the terras before them, the town was destroyed, and we only escaped because we were on the outer edges.

Aerrow had never seen the full damage. He stayed a watched a little as the fires started and the screams rang out. Radarr stayed with him, but the little guy closed his eyes and held his ears. But Finn and I only exchanged glances, and then we left, unable to bare it.

_I can't leave you waiting,_

_But I can't stay and watch the city burn,_

_Watch it burn._

After all that, how can the boys possibly expect me to believe that there can be a world without such destruction?

_'Cause I try,_

_But it's so hard to believe._

That was it! I knew I wasn't getting to sleep. As quietly as possible, I stole out of my gunny sack (we used them as beds), headed outside, and started to climb up into the willow our fort was centered around.

I peered out at the world from the tree. Even on peaceful Terra Neverlandis, as the boys called it, I couldn't see anything great. Our source of fresh water was underground; there was no free-flowing stream in sight. Stranded here because of wrecked rides, we lived off berries and what we could catch. There was no shade but this lonely willow and the tree down the hill. The night was dark without the light from even a single nearby terra to light it. There was no moon and not even a star; they were covered by dark, gray clouds, making the sky pitch black.

We were abandoned, left alone in the dark.

Where was the light of a good world?

_I try,_

_But I can't see what you see._

_I try, I try._

I never got any good sleep that night. Days passed, and our nights by the campfire became quiet from most of us. But Aerrow never stopped talking about his dreams. And just as he had since we met, he never stopped trying to get me to open up a little.

The more he did, the more I wanted to see that world and the more I wanted to share stuff about myself.

I had dreams, too, you know. I wanted to be an explorer one day, see faraway lands that I've read about and meet famous people, like Domiwick or Martin or Tritonn. I wanted to make discoveries of my own, too, and work with crystals! Maybe I could even create my own types of crystals!

But I still I mentioned none of it.

It wasn't until another dark night. Finn had gotten sick with a mild cold, and the poor guy wasn't feeling well and was more aggravating than ever. He was having trouble falling asleep, keeping the rest of us all awake, but he finally drifted off into a sleep so deep a Torka beast's trumpet couldn't wake him. Radarr was out like a light as well. Then there was little hope of sleep for Aerrow or me, for with his congested nose, Finn snored about as loud as a Bog Howler.

Even so, I tried to convince Aerrow to rest. He'd stayed awake all night for the past three nights checking on Finn's fever (I know because he'd wake me when he didn't know what to do). Now it was starting to show.

In trying to stay awake with me, he fell asleep on with his head resting on my shoulder.

And as I looked around at them, Finn's head resting almost in my lap, Radarr curled up next to me, and Aerrow's head on my shoulder, I felt a warm little feeling, hard to describe. I keep wondering what a scientist would call it, but I know what most people do.

Despite how scared I'd been to accept all of them, I found I loved them.

_I try and try to understand_

_The distance in between_

_The love I feel, the things I fear,_

_And every single dream._

I hadn't meant to wake Aerrow, but I guess I did.

I had gotten up and climbed up the willow again. I thought I'd climbed to a spot that only Radarr could scamper up to. I'd forget how nimble Aerrow was.

"Hey," he greeted me.

I spooked but smiled when I saw it was only him. "I thought you'd be down with Finn."

"Finn's fine," he insisted. "His fever's long broke, and Radarr's with him."

We both sat on the branch side by side and just stared out over the dark horizon. It was quiet for a moment, so quiet I could hear the silence. I was lost in my own thoughts about the loneliness of the place. "Not even a light."

"What?" Aerrow asked.

I pointed. "There's not a single point of a light. There's no terras nearby. We're all alone."

Aerrow didn't answer right away. Instead he played with a piece of bark, twiddling it in his fingers. Finally he said, "There's some light."

"Where?"

"The stars."

I looked up. I hadn't even thought to see if the stars were out tonight. They swirled around like a glittering abyss over our heads. "They're beautiful," I said.

"Yeah," Aerrow agreed. "Sometimes, you know, I feel a little closer to my mother when I'm under the stars."

I was quiet. We didn't talk about our parents.

But Aerrow trusted me enough to tell me that.

"I hope to one day be closer to the stars," Aerrow continued. "Imagine, being the first one in the stratosphere! Or maybe higher!"

So I wasn't the only one with dreams of adventuring. All I could say was, "That would be pretty cool. You'd have to take me with you to see!"

We were quiet for awhile, but it was a comfortable silence. Then Aerrow smiled. "Want to make a wish on a star?" he suggested. "The brightest one. Right there." He pointed it out to me.

"I don't know," I answered.

"Just give it a try."

So I did. I closed my eyes and made the only wish I knew would be any good. I wished for all those things Aerrow believed in.

What happened to me that night was magical, just like a fairytale.

_I can finally see it._

_Now I have to believe_

_All those precious stories._

_All the world is made of faith_

_And trust and pixie dust._

And when we went back inside together to get out of the cold night air, I felt like I was coming home at last . . . to my family. Turns out it's more than just a word after all.

_So I'll try,_

_'Cause I finally believe_

_I'll try,_

_'Cause I can see what you see_

_I'll try, I'll try, I will try._

Some day we'll fly away from this little terra and we'll live our dreams. One day. We just got to keep trying.

_I'll try to fly._

* * *

Author's Notes: So, what do y'all think? Star quality? Or just the quality you expect from only an hour and a half's work?

Yeah, not the greatest in the world, but hope you liked it all the same! Don't forget to review! Not to be cheesy and cliché or anything but . . . just give it a try!


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